Server device, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing game program

ABSTRACT

A server device according to an embodiment is connected to a plurality of player terminals to communicate information with the player terminals. The server device includes: a storage unit configured to store game content information, the game content information being configured to have special numbers at a predetermined interval in serial number order; a providing unit configured to select the same number of pieces of game content as the number of the predetermined interval, and to provide the selected pieces of game content at a time; a provision notice information generating unit configured to generate provision notice information for notifying in advance of whether a piece of game content with a special number is to be provided; and an image data generating unit configured to generate image data for displaying a game screen on a display unit of the player terminal before providing the pieces of game content.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the foreign priority benefit of Japanese PatentApplication No. 2012-173193, filed Aug. 3, 2012, and Japanese PatentApplication No. 2013-053172, filed Mar. 15, 2013, as well as being acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/950,096, filed Jul.24, 2013. The disclosures of these applications are hereby incorporatedby reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a server device and a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing game program.

2. Description of the Related Art

A game system in which a player plays a game using game content such ascharacter cards is known (for example, Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 2008-264183).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In such a game system, game content used in a game is provided to aplayer. Here, if the player is allowed to see, before game content isprovided, information about the game content in advance without anyconstrains, then the player frequently accesses a server to see theinformation, increasing server load.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and anobject of the present invention is therefore to reduce server load.

The main aspect of the present invention to solve the above-describedproblem is directed to a server device connected to a plurality ofplayer terminals so as to communicate information with the playerterminals, the server device including:

a storage unit configured to store game content information in whichrarity levels are set to be respectively associated with a plurality ofpieces of game content provided with serial numbers, the game contentinformation being configured to have special numbers at a predeterminedinterval in serial number order, and being configured such that raritylevels set for pieces of game content with the special numbers arehigher than or equal to rarity levels set for pieces of game contentwith numbers other than the special numbers;

a providing unit configured to select, in response to a request fromeach of the player terminals, the same number of pieces of game contentas the number of the predetermined interval, in numerical order fromamong the plurality of pieces of game content by referring to the gamecontent information, and to provide the selected pieces of game contentat a time;

a provision notice information generating unit configured to generateprovision notice information for notifying in advance of whether a pieceof game content with a special number is to be provided; and

an image data generating unit configured to generate, in response to arequest from a player terminal having satisfied a predeterminedcondition, image data for displaying a game screen on a display unit ofthe player terminal before providing the pieces of game content, thegame screen containing the provision notice information,

wherein a numerical value of a maximum number among the serial numbersprovided to the pieces of game content is obtained by adding the numberof the plurality of pieces of game content provided at a time by theproviding unit to a numerical value of a maximum special number and thensubtracting 1 from the added numerical value, and

when the providing unit provides, at a time, a plurality of pieces ofgame content including a piece of game content with the maximum specialnumber, the providing unit provides pieces of game content with numbersfrom one subsequent to the maximum special number to the maximum number.

Other features of the present invention will become apparent from thedescription of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

According to the present invention, the server load can be reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an exemplary overall configuration of a gamesystem;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a serverdevice;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a playerterminal;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an exemplary data structure of cardinformation;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an exemplary data structure of playerinformation;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an exemplary data structure of owned cardinformation;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an exemplary data structure of card boxinformation;

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram of a card box;

FIG. 9 is a diagram describing the provision of a special card upon10-consecutive gacha;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for describing exemplary operation for providinga game card to a player in the game system according to the presentembodiment;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen before startingnice round number gacha;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen confirming thestart of nice round number gacha;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for describing a nice round number gacha gameprocess;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another example of a game screen beforestarting nice round number gacha again;

FIG. 15 is another conceptual diagram of a card box;

FIG. 16A is a conceptual diagram of a card box for the case of consumingcoins; and

FIG. 16B is a conceptual diagram of a card box for the case of notconsuming coins.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

At least the following matters will become apparent from the descriptionof the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

Specifically, there is provided a server device connected to a pluralityof player terminals so as to communicate information with the playerterminals, the server device including:

a storage unit configured to store game content information in whichrarity levels are set to be respectively associated with a plurality ofpieces of game content provided with serial numbers, the game contentinformation being configured to have special numbers at a predeterminedinterval in serial number order, and being configured such that raritylevels set for pieces of game content with the special numbers arehigher than or equal to rarity levels set for pieces of game contentwith numbers other than the special numbers;

a providing unit configured to select, in response to a request fromeach of the player terminals, the same number of pieces of game contentas the number of the predetermined interval, in numerical order fromamong the plurality of pieces of game content by referring to the gamecontent information, and to provide the selected pieces of game contentat a time;

a provision notice information generating unit configured to generateprovision notice information for notifying in advance of whether a pieceof game content with a special number is to be provided; and

an image data generating unit configured to generate, in response to arequest from a player terminal having satisfied a predeterminedcondition, image data for displaying a game screen on a display unit ofthe player terminal before providing the pieces of game content, thegame screen containing the provision notice information,

wherein a numerical value of a maximum number among the serial numbersprovided to the pieces of game content is obtained by adding the numberof the plurality of pieces of game content provided at a time by theproviding unit to a numerical value of a maximum special number and thensubtracting 1 from the added numerical value, and

when the providing unit provides, at a time, a plurality of pieces ofgame content including a piece of game content with the maximum specialnumber, the providing unit provides pieces of game content with numbersfrom one subsequent to the maximum special number to the maximum number.

According to such a server device, by limiting players to whom provisionnotice information is shown in advance to those having satisfied thepredetermined condition, frequent access to the server is prevented,enabling to reduce server load.

Also, according to such a server device, by selecting the same number ofpieces of game content as the number of the predetermined interval andproviding the selected pieces of game content at a time, a player cansecurely acquire a piece of game content with a special number.

Furthermore, according to such a server device, when a plurality ofpieces of game content including a piece of game content with themaximum special number is provided at a time, pieces of game contentwith numbers exceeding the maximum special number can also be provided.Thus, shortage of pieces of game content to be provided can be avoided.

In addition, in the server device,

the storage unit may store virtual currency owned by each player, and

the predetermined condition may be that a player acquires the piece ofgame content provided by the providing unit, by consuming the virtualcurrency.

According to such a server device, by limiting players to whom provisionnotice information is shown in advance to those having acquired a pieceof game content by consuming the virtual currency, frequent access tothe server is prevented, making it possible to reduce server load.

In addition, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium storing a game program that causes a server device,connected to a plurality of player terminals so as to communicateinformation with the player terminals, to implement:

storing, in a storage unit, game content information in which raritylevels are set to be respectively associated with a plurality of piecesof game content provided with serial numbers, the game contentinformation being configured to have special numbers at a predeterminedinterval in serial number order, and being configured such that raritylevels set for pieces of game content with the special numbers arehigher than or equal to rarity levels set for pieces of game contentwith numbers other than the special numbers;

selecting, in response to a request from each of the player terminals,the same number of pieces of game content as the number of thepredetermined interval, in numerical order from among the plurality ofpieces of game content by referring to the game content information, andproviding the selected pieces of game content at a time;

generating provision notice information for notifying in advance ofwhether a piece of game content with a special number is to be provided;and

generating, in response to a request from a player terminal havingsatisfied a predetermined condition, image data for displaying a gamescreen on a display unit of the player terminal before providing thepieces of game content, the game screen containing the provision noticeinformation,

wherein a numerical value of a maximum number among the serial numbersprovided to the pieces of game content is obtained by adding the numberof the plurality of pieces of game content provided at a time to anumerical value of a maximum special number and then subtracting 1 fromthe added numerical value, and

when the providing provides, at a time, a plurality of pieces of gamecontent including a piece of game content with the maximum specialnumber, the providing provides pieces of game content with numbers fromone subsequent to the maximum special number to the maximum number.

According to such a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring a game program, the server load can be reduced.

In addition, in the non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring a game program,

the storing may store, in the storage unit, virtual currency owned byeach player, and

the predetermined condition may be that a player acquires pieces of gamecontent provided by consuming the virtual currency.

EMBODIMENT

<Configuration of Game System 1>

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an overall configuration of agame system 1 according to the present embodiment. The game system 1 isto provide a player with various types of services regarding a gamethrough a network 2 (e.g., the Internet), and includes a server device10 and a plurality of player terminals 20.

<Configuration of Server Device 10>

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of theserver device 10 according to the present embodiment. The server device10 is an information processing apparatus (e.g., a workstation and apersonal computer) used when a system administrator, etc., operates andmanages game services. When the server device 10 receives various typesof commands (requests) from the player terminals 20, the server device10 can distribute game programs operable on the player terminals 20, webpages created in markup language (HTML, etc.) conforming to thespecifications of the player terminals 20, and the like. The serverdevice 10 has a control unit 11, a data storage unit 12, an input unit13, a display unit 14, and a communication unit 15.

The control unit 11 passes data between the units and performs overallcontrol of the server device 10. The control unit 11 is implemented by acentral processing unit (CPU) executing a program stored in apredetermined memory. The control unit 11 of the present embodimentincludes a setting unit 111, an accepting unit 112, a providing unit113, a provision notice information generating unit 114, and an imagedata generating unit 115.

The setting unit 111 has a function of performing the process of settingthe contents of card boxes, i.e., the contents of game content providedto a player (the attributes (rarity levels), order (nice round numbers),etc., of game content to be provided).

The accepting unit 112 has a function of performing the process ofaccepting various types of operation commands (requests) issued by aplayer, from the player terminals 20 through the network 2.

The providing unit 113 has a function of performing the process ofproviding a player with game content used in a game. The game contentincludes, for example, game cards, figures, etc., associated withcharacters, etc., or items that can be used in the game, such as toolsand abilities.

The provision notice information generating unit 114 has a function ofperforming the process of generating provision notice information fornotifying in advance of information about game content to be provided toa player. The provision notice information is, for example, informationfor notifying in advance of whether special game content is to beprovided.

The image data generating unit 115 has a function of performing theprocess of generating image data for allowing the player terminal 20 todisplay an operation screen and a game screen where a player plays agame.

The data storage unit 12 has a read only memory (ROM) which is aread-only storage area having a system program stored therein, and arandom access memory (RAM) which is a rewritable storage area used as awork area for computing processes performed by the control unit 11. Thedata storage unit 12 is implemented by, for example, a nonvolatilestorage device such as a flash memory or a hard disk. The data storageunit 12 of the present embodiment stores card information which isinformation about game cards used in games, player information which isinformation about players, and card box information which is informationabout virtual card boxes, each containing a plurality of game cardsarranged in the order in which the game cards are provided.

The input unit 13 is to input various types of data (e.g., cardinformation) by the system administrator, etc. The input unit 13 isimplemented by, for example, a keyboard and a mouse.

The display unit 14 is to display an operation screen for the systemadministrator, based on an instruction from the control unit 11. Thedisplay unit 14 is implemented by, for example, a liquid crystal display(LCD).

The communication unit 15 is to perform communication with the playerterminals 20. The communication unit 15 has a function as a receivingunit that receives various types of data and signals transmitted fromthe player terminals 20, and a function as a transmitting unit thattransmits various types of data and signals to the player terminals 20in response to instructions from the control unit 11. The communicationunit 15 is implemented by, for example, a network interface card (NIC).

<Configuration of Player Terminal 20>

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of theplayer terminal 20. The player terminal 20 of the present embodiment isan information processing apparatus (e.g., a mobile phone terminal or asmartphone) used by a player when playing a game, and can request theserver device 10 to distribute various types of information about thegame (a game program, web pages, etc.). The player terminal 20 has a webbrowser function of allowing the player to browse web pages, and thus,can display web pages (game play images, etc.) distributed from theserver device 10 on a screen. The player terminal 20 includes a terminalcontrol unit 21, a terminal storage unit 22, a terminal input unit 23, aterminal display unit 24, and a terminal communication unit 25.

The terminal control unit 21 passes data between the units and performsoverall control of the player terminal 20. The terminal control unit 21is implemented by a central processing unit (CPU) executing a programstored in a predetermined memory. Note that the terminal control unit 21of the present embodiment also functions as a screen display controlunit that controls the display mode of a game screen displayed on theterminal display unit 24.

The terminal storage unit 22 is connected via a bus to the terminalcontrol unit 21, and performs the process of referring to, reading, andrewriting data stored therein, in response to instructions from theterminal control unit 21. The terminal storage unit 22 is implementedby, for example, a flash memory or a hard disk.

The terminal input unit 23 is to perform various types of operations(game operations, etc.) by the player. The terminal input unit 23 isimplemented by, for example, operation buttons and a touch panel.

The terminal display unit 24 is to display game screens (game images,operation images, etc.) in response to instructions from the terminalcontrol unit 21. The terminal display unit 24 is implemented by, forexample, a liquid crystal display (LCD).

The terminal communication unit 25 functions as a transmitting andreceiving unit for transmitting and receiving various types ofinformation to/from the server device 10 through the network 2. Theterminal communication unit 25 is implemented by, for example, a networkinterface card (NIC).

<Data Structure>

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an exemplary data structure of cardinformation stored in the data storage unit 12 of the server device 10.The card information includes items (fields) such as a card ID, acharacter name, a character image, rarity, attack power, and defensepower. The card ID is identification information that identifies a gamecard. The character name is information indicating the display name of acharacter. The character image is image data of the character. Therarity is a parameter indicating the rarity level of the character. Inthe present embodiment, four levels of rarity(“common”→“uncommon”→“rare”→“super-rare”) are set for characters (gamecards). Specifically, a game card with a card ID whose last digit is “1”is set to “common”. A game card with a card ID whose last digit is “2”is set to “uncommon”. A game card with a card ID whose last digit is “3”is set to “rare”. A game card with a card ID whose last digit is “4” isset to “super-rare”. The attack power, defense power, etc., of thecharacter are parameters indicating ability values set for thecharacter.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an exemplary data structure of playerinformation stored in the data storage unit 12 of the server device 10.The player information includes items such as a player ID, a friendplayer ID, coins, consumption points, and owned card information. Theplayer ID is identification information that identifies a player. Thefriend player ID is information indicating other players registered in aplayer's friend list. The coins is information indicating the amount ofcoins owned by the player and is updated, for example, when the playergains or consumes a coin. The coins are an example of virtual currencyused in games. The consumption points (battle energy) is informationrequired when the player battles against an enemy character. For theconsumption points, 1 point or more is consumed upon the player startingbattle, and the consumption points are recovered by the passage of time,the use of a recovery item, etc. The owned card information isinformation indicating game cards owned by the player (hereinafter, alsoreferred to as the owned cards).

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an exemplary data structure of owned cardinformation. The owned card information includes items such as an ownedcard ID and the level, attack power, defense power, acquisitiondate/time, etc., of the owned card. The owned card ID is identificationinformation that identifies an owned card. The level, attack power,defense power, and physical strength of the owned card are parametersindicating ability values set for a character associated with the ownedcard. These various types of parameters are updated according to theresult of a battle game, etc. The acquisition date/time is informationindicating the date and time when the player has acquired the ownedcard.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an exemplary data structure of card boxinformation stored in the data storage unit 12 of the server device 10.The card box information is an example of game content information, andis information defining a virtual card box where game cards to beprovided to players are put together in a set every predetermined numberof game cards. The card box information is configured such that raritiesindicating rarity levels are set to be respectively associated with aplurality of game cards (card IDs) provided with serial numbers, andthat the rarities set for game cards with special numbers are higherthan or equal to the rarities set for game cards with numbers other thanthe special numbers. In the present embodiment, card box information isconfigured such that 309 game cards provided with serial numbers fromNo. 1 to No. 309 are arranged in numerical order, and a game cardselected in numerical order from the card box information is provided toa player. Special numbers are set at every predetermined interval suchas Nos. 10, 20, 30 . . . , and rare cards are set for the specialnumbers. In addition, No. 300 is also set as a special number, and asuper-rare card is set for this special number. For those numbers otherthan the special numbers, common cards, uncommon cards, rare cards,etc., are set. As such, the configuration is such that the rarities setfor game cards with the special numbers are higher than or equal to therarities set for game cards with numbers other than the special numbers.Note that the configuration may be such that the rarities set for gamecards with the special numbers are higher than the rarities set for gamecards with numbers other than the special numbers.

<Summary of Game>

Here, a summary of a game provided by the game system 1 of the presentembodiment will be described. The game system 1 provides a battle gameplayed using game cards (virtual cards used in a virtual space in thegame) which are an example of game content.

(Battle Game)

In the game system 1 of the present embodiment, a player can own aplurality of game cards associated with game characters. The player canplay a battle game by using a game card (character) selected from amongthe plurality of his/her owned game cards, and consuming the consumptionpoints (battle energy) set for the player. The control unit 11determines an enemy character that battles against the characterselected by the player, and determines the winning or losing of thebattle game between the characters, based on various types of parameters(attack power, defense power, physical strength/vitality, etc.) set forthe characters and the number of consumption points consumed.

(Provision of Game Cards)

In the game system 1 of the present embodiment, a game card is providedto a player when winning a battle against an enemy character or whenplaying a lottery game, so-called “Gacha Gacha” (registered trademark).The player can own the provided game card and can also play theabove-described battle game using the game card.

In the present embodiment, as an example of a lottery game providinggame cards, “nice round number gacha” is played. In the “nice roundnumber gacha”, a game is played in which a game card selected innumerical order from a virtual card box that contains a plurality ofgame cards provided with serial numbers is provided to a playerrequesting for a game card. When a game card with a special number,so-called “nice round number” (e.g., No. 100 or 777), is selected, aspecial game card is provided to the player. Since a plurality ofplayers shares this virtual card box, they use their strategies to aimat acquiring special cards with nice round numbers.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram of a virtual card box containing gamecards which are provided in nice round number gacha. The card box of thepresent embodiment contains 309 game cards. Rare cards are set for thenice round numbers of every 10 game cards, such as the 10th, 20th, and30th cards, and a super-rare card is set for the nice round number ofthe 300th card.

Players can play nice round number gacha by consuming a predeterminednumber of coins (virtual currency). In the present embodiment, playerscan select either normal nice round number gacha (hereinafter, called“normal gacha”) or special nice round number gacha (hereinafter, called“10-consecutive gacha”) and play the selected gacha. In the normalgacha, one nice round number gacha is played by consuming one coin, andone game card selected in numerical order from the card box is providedto a player. In the 10-consecutive gacha, one nice round number gacha isplayed by consuming 10 coins, and 10 game cards selected in numericalorder from the card box are provided at a time.

FIG. 9 is a diagram describing the provision of a special card upon10-consecutive gacha. The card box of the present embodiment isconfigured such that a plurality of game cards provided with serialnumbers are selected in numerical order, and thus, whatever the timingof the player playing 10-consecutive gacha, any of the rare cards setfor the nice round numbers of every 10 game cards is always selected.For example, at timing at which the player plays 10-consecutive gacha,regardless of whether the 1st to 10th game cards (10 game cards) in thecard box are selected or the 5th to 14th game cards (10 game cards) areselected, the 10th rare card of a nice round number is provided.

In the nice round number gacha of the present embodiment, a plurality ofcard boxes, each having 309 game cards in a set, are prepared. When, asa result of playing nice round number gacha, the number of game cardsselected in numerical order from a certain card box has reached 300, thecard box is changed to a next card box. In other words, even when thenumber of game cards in a certain card box gradually decreases,eventually resulting in shortage of game cards, game cards can beprovided continuously since the card box is changed to a next card box.Note that since card boxes, each having 309 game cards in a set, arechanged one after another, they are the same as a card box in whichsuper-rare cards are set for the nice round numbers of every 300 gamecards.

Exemplary operation that is performed by the game system 1 according tothe present embodiment to provide game cards to players who have playedsuch nice round number gacha will be specifically described below.

<Exemplary Operation of Game System 1>

Exemplary operation of the game system 1 according to the presentembodiment will be described. In the following, a card box settingprocess for setting a card box will be described, and then, a cardprovision process for providing a game card selected from the set cardbox to a player will be described.

(Card Box Setting Process)

In the game system 1 according to the present embodiment, beforeproviding game cards to players, the control unit 11 (setting unit 111)of the server device 10 performs a card box setting process.Specifically, the setting unit 111 sets nice round numbers for providingspecial cards, for a card box. In the present embodiment, in a card boxhaving 309 cards in a set, nice round numbers are set every 10 gamecards, such as the 10th, 20th, and 30th game cards, and rare cards areset for those nice round numbers. A nice round number is also set forNo. 300, and a super-rare card is set for that nice round number. Then,the setting unit 111 sets game cards associated with serial numbers fromNo. 1 to No. 309. Specifically, the setting unit 111 selects game cardswith respective rarities by referring to the card information shown inFIG. 4, and associates the card IDs of rare cards or a super-rare cardwith the nice round numbers and associates the card IDs of common cardsand uncommon cards with those numbers other than the nice round numbers.Then, the setting unit 111 generates a plurality of pieces of card boxinformation (see FIG. 7), each corresponding to the card box set in theabove-described manner, and records the plurality of pieces of generatedcard box information in the data storage unit 12.

(Card Provision Process)

In the game system 1 according to the present embodiment, after eachcard box is set by performing the above-described card box settingprocess, the control unit 11 (providing unit 113) of the server device10 performs a card provision process.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for describing exemplary operation for providinga game card to a player in the game system 1 according to the presentembodiment.

First, in the player terminal 20, when the terminal control unit 21receives a player's operation input from the terminal input unit 23, theterminal control unit 21 transmits a command for obtaining the startpage of nice round number gacha (a request for the start page of niceround number gacha) to the server device 10 through the terminalcommunication unit 25 (S101).

Then, in the server device 10, when the accepting unit 112 accepts therequest for the start page of nice round number gacha transmitted fromthe player terminal 20, the image data generating unit 115 generatesimage data for allowing the player terminal 20 to display the start pageof nice round number gacha (game start screen) (S102).

Then, the communication unit 15 of the server device 10 transmits theimage data of the start page of nice round number gacha generated by theimage data generating unit 115, through the network 2 to the playerterminal 20 which is the request source (S103).

Subsequently, when the player terminal 20 receives, through the terminalcommunication unit 25, the image data transmitted from the server device10 (S104), the player terminal 20 allows the terminal display unit 24 todisplay the start page of nice round number gacha, based on the receivedimage data (S105). FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the startpage of nice round number gacha. The start page of nice round numbergacha contains at least information 51 about special cards that can beprovided in nice round number gacha, an operation button for normalgacha 52, an operation button for 10-consecutive gacha 53, andinformation 54 about a player who has already acquired a special card.Note that the information 54 about a player who has already acquired aspecial card has a link so that players can access my page of theplayer.

Then, referring back to FIG. 10, when, while the terminal control unit21 of the player terminal 20 is displaying the start page of nice roundnumber gacha shown in FIG. 11 on the terminal display unit 24, theoperation button for normal gacha 52 or the operation button for10-consecutive gacha 53 is selected by the player operating the terminalinput unit 23, a corresponding operation command (a request to startnice round number gacha) is transmitted from the player terminal 20 tothe server device 10 (S106).

Then, when the control unit 11 of the server device 10 accepts, by theaccepting unit 112, the request to start nice round number gachatransmitted from the player terminal 20, the control unit 11 checks theamount of coins owned by the player requesting to start nice roundnumber gacha (S107). Specifically, when there is a request to startnormal gacha (when the operation button for normal gacha 52 isselected), the control unit 11 determines whether the player owns 300coins (the coins required for one normal gacha) or more, by referring tothe player information stored in the data storage unit 12 (see FIG. 5).When there is a request to start 10-consecutive gacha (when theoperation button for 10-consecutive gacha 53 is selected), the controlunit 11 determines whether the player owns 3000 coins (the coinsrequired for one 10-consecutive gacha, i.e., the coins required for 10normal gacha) or more.

Then, when, as a result of the above-described determination, thecontrol unit 11 of the server device 10 allows the start of nice roundnumber gacha, the control unit 11 allows the image data generating unit115 to generate image data of the confirmation page of nice round numbergacha (a game screen for confirmation) (S108).

Then, the communication unit 15 of the server device 10 transmits theimage data of the confirmation page of nice round number gacha generatedby the image data generating unit 115, through the network 2 to theplayer terminal 20 which is the request source (S109).

Subsequently, when the player terminal 20 receives, through the terminalcommunication unit 25, the image data transmitted from the server device10 (S110), the player terminal 20 allows the terminal display unit 24 todisplay the confirmation page of nice round number gacha, based on thereceived image data (S111). FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example ofthe confirmation page of nice round number gacha. Here, it is assumedthat the operation button for normal gacha 52 is selected on the startpage of nice round number gacha shown in FIG. 11, and as a result, as anoperation button for confirmation, a confirmation button for normalgacha 55 is displayed on the confirmation page of nice round numbergacha shown in FIG. 12.

Then, referring back to FIG. 10, when, while the terminal control unit21 of the player terminal 20 is displaying the confirmation page of niceround number gacha on the terminal display unit 24, an operation buttonfor confirmation (a confirmation button for normal gacha or aconfirmation button for 10-consecutive gacha) is selected by the playeroperating the terminal input unit 23, a corresponding operation command(a card provision request) is transmitted from the player terminal 20 tothe server device 10 (S112).

Then, when the control unit 11 of the server device 10 accepts, by theaccepting unit 112, the card provision request transmitted from theplayer terminal 20, the control unit 11 allows the providing unit 113 toperform a nice round number gacha game process by consuming coins ownedby the player (S113).

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for describing a nice round number gacha gameprocess.

First, the providing unit 113 calculates the current reached number ofgame cards in the card box, which changes by providing a plurality ofgame cards selected in numerical order from the card box to players (thecumulative number of game cards provided so far) (S201). Specifically,the providing unit 113 reads, from the data storage unit 12, thecumulative number of already selected game cards in the card box. Then,when there is a card provision request for normal gacha, the providingunit 113 adds +1 to the read cumulative number, and when there is a cardprovision request for 10-consecutive gacha, the providing unit 113 adds+10 to the read cumulative number, whereby the current cumulative numberis determined. Then, the providing unit 113 records the currentcumulative number, which has been newly calculated in this manner, inthe data storage unit 12 and thereby updates the cumulative number. Forexample, if there is a normal gacha request when the cumulative numberfor the card box is 267, then 1 card is provided to the player from thecard box. As a result, the current reached number becomes 268. Forexample, if there is a 10-consecutive gacha request when the reachednumber for the card box is 258, then 10 cards are provided to the playerfrom the card box. As a result, the current reached number becomes 268.

Subsequently, when the current reached number of game cards in the cardbox has been calculated, the provision notice information generatingunit 114 generates provision notice information for notifying in advanceof whether a special card set for a nice round number is to be provided(S202). For example, when the current reached number of game cards iscalculated to be 268, the provision notice information generating unit114 of the present embodiment generates, as an example of provisionnotice information, information indicating the position of the currentreached number in the entire card box (e.g., “268/309”) or informationindicating the number of cards to go until a nice round number for whicha super-rare card is set (e.g., 32 cards to go until the 300th card) orinformation indicating the number of cards to go until a nice roundnumber for which a rare card is set (e.g., 2 cards to go until the 270thcard).

Then, the providing unit 113 provides a game card selected in numericalorder from the card box by referring to the card box information storedin the data storage unit 12 (see FIG. 7), to the player (S203). In thecase of normal gacha, the providing unit 113 provides 1 game cardselected in numerical order from the current card box, to the player. Inthe case of 10-consecutive gacha, the providing unit 113 provides 10game cards selected in numerical order from the current card box, to theplayer. In the case of this 10-consecutive gacha, since the number ofcards provided at a time in 10-consecutive gacha (10 cards) is set tothe same number as the number of the intervals between nice roundnumbers for rare cards (every 10 game cards), a rare card is alwaysincluded in the provided 10 cards (a rare card is guaranteed). When thegame card is provided to the player in this manner, the owned cardinformation shown in FIG. 6 is updated (the player acquires a card).

The reason why the number of game cards contained in the card box isthus set to 309 is as follows. That is, if the number of game cardscontained in the card box is set to 300 which is a nice round number,then when 10-consecutive gacha is played at the time when the reachednumber of game cards in the card box is 299, 9 cards are short and thuscannot be provided. Hence, the maximum number of the cards (No. 309) inthe card box is set to a numerical value (309) which is obtained byadding the number of cards provided in 10-consecutive gacha (10 cards)to the maximum nice round number (No. 300) (310) and then subtracting 1from the added value. In this manner, the cards with No. 301 to No. 309can be provided, avoiding a situation in which cards being short are notprovided in the middle of 10-consecutive gacha.

Then, the providing unit 113 determines whether the cumulative number ofprovided game cards has reached 300 as a result of providing a game cardin the card box in numerical order (S204). That is, the providing unit113 determines whether the 300th super-rare card has been provided tothe player.

If not reached 300 (S204: NO), then the providing unit 113 continuouslyand sequentially selects game cards from the current card box at thenext and subsequent times, too, without changing the card box to a newone.

On the other hand, if reached 300 (S204: YES), then the providing unit113 changes the current card box to a next new card box, based on thecard box information shown in FIG. 7 (S205). For example, when10-consecutive gacha is played at the time when the reached number ofgame cards in the card box is 295, the providing unit 113 provides gamecards up to the 305th game card from the current card box, and thenchanges the current card box to a next card box. Then, after giving a5-minute suspension time, the providing unit 113 performs nice roundnumber gacha using the changed new card box, and sequentially providesgame cards. Note that when the control unit 11 of the server device 10accepts, by the accepting unit 112, a request to start nice round numbergacha transmitted from the player terminal 20 during this suspensiontime, the control unit 11 transmits to the terminal display unit 24 animage indicating that the card box is being changed, and the terminaldisplay unit 24 displays the image.

By thus giving the suspension time upon changing the card box, theplayer can recognize that the card box has been changed to a new cardbox.

In addition, since the numerical values of nice round numbers aresmaller when a card box is thus changed to a new card box one afteranother in units of 300 cards than when one card box is continuouslyused without changing it to a new one, players can more easily graspnice round numbers.

Then, referring back to FIG. 10, after such a nice round number gachagame process ends, the control unit 11 of the server device 10 allowsthe image data generating unit 115 to generate image data of the startpage of next nice round number gacha (next game start screen) (S114).

Then, the communication unit 15 of the server device 10 transmits theimage data of the start page of next nice round number gacha generatedby the image data generating unit 115, through the network 2 to theplayer terminal 20 which is the request source (S115).

Subsequently, when the player terminal 20 receives, through the terminalcommunication unit 25, the image data transmitted from the server device10 (S116), the player terminal 20 allows the terminal display unit 24 todisplay the start page of next nice round number gacha, based on thereceived image data (S117). FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example ofthe start page of next nice round number gacha. The start page of nextnice round number gacha contains at least text 56 indicating the currentreached number (“268/309”) and the number of cards to go until a niceround number (“super-rare card will appear with another 32 cards!!” and“rare card will appear with another two cards !!”) as examples ofprovision notice information; a gauge 57 indicating the current reachednumber as an example of provision notice information; a reoperationbutton for normal gacha 58; and a reoperation button for 10-consecutivegacha 59.

As described above, unlike the start page of nice round number gachashown in FIG. 11, the start page of next nice round number gacha shownin FIG. 14 displays provision notice information. That is, after theplayer has played nice round number gacha by consuming coins, provisionnotice information is displayed on the start page of nice round numbergacha. As such, only to the player having satisfied a predeterminedcondition, provision notice information for notifying in advance ofwhether game cards with nice round numbers are to be provided isdisplayed on the start page of nice round number gacha. Therefore, sinceplayers to whom provision notice information is shown in advance arelimited to those having satisfied the predetermined condition, frequentaccess to the server is prevented, resulting in a reduction in serverload.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

The above-described embodiment is provided to facilitate understandingof the present invention and not to be construed as limiting the presentinvention. The present invention may be changed or modified withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope thereof, and also includesequivalency thereof. In particular, even those embodiments describedbelow are included in the present invention.

<Card Boxes>

The above embodiment has been described using an example in which, asshown in FIG. 8, a card box contains 309 game cards or the nice roundnumbers of every 10 game cards are set in the card box or the nice roundnumbers of every 300 game cards are set in the card box. However, thepresent invention is not limited to those numerical values. For example,a configuration of a card box shown in FIG. 15 may be employed.Specifically, a card box contains 909 game cards which is larger innumber than 309 and rare cards are set for the nice round numbers ofevery 10 game cards, such as the 10th, 20th, and 30th cards, andsuper-rare cards are set for the nice round numbers of the 300th, 600th,and 900th cards. Then, at the time when the reached number of game cardsin the card box has reached 900, the card box is changed to a next cardbox. This can reduce the number of changes of card boxes compared to theconfiguration of the card box shown in FIG. 8, and thus, is effectivefor nice round number gacha with a high frequency of use, such as niceround number gacha using game cards of popular characters. Note that, inthis case, the intervals between nice round numbers for which super-rarecards are set may be set to any random value (number of game cards).

In addition, the above embodiment has been described using, as anexample, the case in which a player plays nice round number gacha byconsuming coins; however, the present invention is not limited thereto,and nice round number gacha may be played without consuming coins. Inthis case, the probability of the player being able to acquire a specialcard may be set to a higher value for the case of consuming coins thanfor the case of not consuming coins. For example, a card box shown inFIG. 16A may be used for nice round number gacha with coins consumed,and a card box shown in FIG. 16B may be used for nice round number gachawith coins not consumed. Specifically, larger intervals between niceround numbers are taken in the latter than the former to reduce theappearance rate of special cards. In addition, in nice round numbergacha with coins consumed, a plurality of card boxes whose nice roundnumbers vary according to the amount of coins consumed may be set. Forexample, the setting may be such that a card box with a larger amount ofcoins consumed has a smaller number of nice round numbers. In thismanner, the server load can be reduced.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, a plurality of cardboxes may be prepared according to the types of game cards (the types ofcharacters) provided to players (card box information may be registeredin a storage unit). In this manner, since the respective card boxes havedifferent reached numbers of game cards, players can enjoy nice roundnumber gacha while searching for a card box that is more likely thanothers to provide a special card with a nice round number.

<Nice Round Numbers>

Although the above embodiment has been described using, as an example,nice round number gacha in which special cards are provided using thenice round numbers of game cards contained in a card box, the presentinvention is not limited thereto. The number of battles (which may bethe number of wins or the number of losses) in a battle game may becounted, and special cards may be provided using the nice round numbersof the number of battles (or the number of wins or the number oflosses).

In addition, although the above embodiment has been described using, asan example, the case in which nice round numbers (special numbers) areset every predetermined interval such as Nos. 10, 20, 30 . . . , thepredetermined interval is not limited to this numerical value.

In addition, in the present embodiment, special cards are not limited tobeing set to nice round numbers having a predetermined interval. Forexample, while rare cards are set for nice round numbers having apredetermined interval such as Nos. 10, 20, 30 . . . , a rare card canalso be exceptionally set for, for example, No. 13. Alternatively, forexample, while rare cards are set for nice round numbers having apredetermined interval such as Nos. 10, 20, 30 . . . , a common card maybe exceptionally set for, for example, the nice round number of No. 40.

<Predetermined Condition>

Although the above embodiment has been described using, as an example,the case in which provision notice information is displayed on a gamescreen based on a predetermined condition that a player plays nice roundnumber gacha by consuming coins, the present invention is not limitedthereto. For example, the predetermined condition may be that nice roundnumber gacha is played without consuming coins. Alternatively, thepredetermined condition may be that a player wins a battle against anenemy character in a game event. Alternatively, the predeterminedcondition may be that a player accesses a server during a certainlimited period or certain limited hours. Alternatively, thepredetermined condition may be that a player uses a special item.Alternatively, the predetermined condition may be that a player wins abattle against enemy characters in units of groups formed with otherplayers, and provision notice information may be displayed to allplayers belonging to the group.

<Server Device>

Although the above embodiment has been described using, as an example,the game system 1 including a single server device 10 as an example ofan information processing apparatus, the present invention is notlimited thereto, and the game system 1 may include a plurality of serverdevices 10. Specifically, a plurality of server devices 10 may beconnected to each other through the network 2, and the server devices 10may perform various types of processes in a distributed manner.Alternatively, a player terminal 20 may be configured to perform some ofthe functions of the server device. In this case, the server device 10and the player terminal 20 constitute an information processingapparatus.

<Virtual Currency>

In the above-described embodiment, a fixed amount of coins, which are anexample of virtual currency, may be provided to each playerperiodically, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and thecoins may be set arbitrarily. For example, a player may purchase coins.Alternatively, coins may be provided to a player according tocommunication made with other players.

What is claimed is:
 1. A server apparatus connected to a player terminalso as to be able to communicate information with the player terminal,the server apparatus comprising: a storage unit that stores game contentinformation in which rarities are set to be respectively associated witha plurality of game contents provided with serial numbers, the gamecontent information being configured such that rarities associated withgame contents with special numbers are higher than or equal to raritiesassociated with game contents with numbers other than the specialnumbers; a providing unit that provides at least one game content inresponse to a request from the player terminal, and calculates asubtraction value by subtracting a cumulative numerical value of anumber of already-provided game contents from a numerical value of amaximum special number, the at least one game content being selected innumerical order from among the plurality of game contents, based on thegame content information; a provision notice information generating unitthat generates, based on the subtraction value, provision noticeinformation that notifies in advance of a number of game contents leftbefore provision of a game content with the maximum special number; andan image data generating unit that generates image data for displaying agame screen on the player terminal before providing the game content,the game screen containing the provision notice information.
 2. Theserver apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the game contentinformation is configured to have special numbers at a predeterminedinterval in serial number order, and the providing unit selects, basedon the game content information, game contents whose number is same as anumber of the predetermined interval, in numerical order from among theplurality of game contents, and provides the selected game contents at atime.
 3. The server apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a numericalvalue of a maximum number among the serial numbers provided to the gamecontents is obtained by adding a number of a plurality of game contentsprovided at a time by the providing unit to the numerical value of themaximum special number and then subtracting 1 from the numerical valueobtained after the addition, and when the providing unit provides, at atime, a plurality of game contents including the game content with themaximum special number, the providing unit can provide game contentswith numbers from one subsequent to the maximum special number to themaximum number.
 4. A non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring a game program that causes a server apparatus connected to aplayer terminal so as to be able to communicate information with theplayer terminal, to implement: a function of storing, in a storage unit,game content information in which rarities are set to be respectivelyassociated with a plurality of game contents provided with serialnumbers, the game content information being configured such thatrarities associated with game contents with special numbers are higherthan or equal to rarities associated with game contents with numbersother than the special numbers; a providing function of providing atleast one game content in response to a request from the playerterminal, and calculating a subtraction value by subtracting acumulative numerical value of a number of already-provided game contentsfrom a numerical value of a maximum special number, the at least onegame content being selected in numerical order from among the pluralityof game contents, based on the game content information; a provisionnotice information generating function of generating, based on thesubtraction value, provision notice information that notifies in advanceof a number of game contents left before provision of a game contentwith the maximum special number; and an image data generating functionof generating image data for displaying a game screen on the playerterminal before providing the game content, the game screen containingthe provision notice information.